Apparatus for recording the speed of a rotary source



Dec 7, 1965 R. l.. VAN wlNKLE ETAL APPARATUS FOR RECORDING THE SPEED OF A ROTARY SOURCE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Dec. 26, 1962 N www@ INVENTORS ROY L.. VAN WINKLE WILLIAM L LANKFORD JK.

l IRVIN M. CARPENTER @VMM JM ATTORNEY Dec- 7, 1965 R. L. VAN WINKLE ETAL 3,222,579

APPARATUS FOR RECORDING THE SPEED OF A ROTARY SOURCE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Dec. 26, 1962 United States Patent O 3,222,679 APPARATUS FOR RECORDING THE SPEED OF A ROTARY SOURCE Roy L. Van Winkle, Edmond, and William L. Lankford, Jr., and Irvin M. Carpenter, Oklahoma City, Okla., assignors to The Geolograph Company, Oklahoma City, Okla., a corporation of Oklahoma Original application Dec. 26, 1962, Ser. No. 247,084, now Patent No. 3,181,165, dated Apr. 27, 1965. Divided and this application Dec. 14, 1964, Ser. No. 418,077

1 Claim. (Cl. 346-33) The present invention relates to a recording apparatus for recording the speed of a rotary source and, more particularly, to a pneumatic servo system adapted to procide the desired recording; this application is a division of our co-pending application Serial No. 247,084, filed December 26, 1962 now Patent No. 3,181,165.

In the oil drilling art there are many variables whose measurement and ultimate control are studied and/or utilized to affect or improve the efficiency of the drilling operation. The present invention is concerned specifically with those variables having a rotary component or capable of having a rotary component. For example, the number of strokes per minute of the reciprocating mud pump is a factor which is often considered in evaluating the efficiency of a drilling operation; since the prime mover which drives the mud pump is a rotary source, the present invention, as will hereinafter appear, can be connected to this prime mover as a means of providing a measurement and record of the pump strokes. Secondly, the rate at which the rotary table turns the drill string is another important -factor relating to the efficiency of the drilling operation. The present invention obviously can be utilized to provide a measurement and record of the rate at which the rotary drilling table is rotated. A particular feature of the present invention resides in the fact that a pneumatic servo system is incorporated into the recording apparatus.

Therefore, it is a principalbbject of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus and, more particularly a recording apparatus incorporating a pneumatic servo system, for the purpose of making a permanent record of the speed of a rotary source.

Other and further objects and advantageous features of the present invention will hereinafter more fully appear in connection with a detailed description of the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating one form of the present invention and showing a circuit which may be used to record the speed of a pump or other rotary source.

FIGURE 2 is a schematic diagrem similar to FIGURE 1 showing a modification wherein a pneumatic multiplier is substituted `for the variable pulley transmission of FIGURE 1.

Referring to the drawings in detail, FIGURE 1 shows a rotary source 70 which could be a rotable portion connected with the reciprocating mud pump or it could be a rotary member associated with the rotary drilling table. In fact, the rotary source 70 could be connected to any type of mechanical movement which, by any suitable conversion, causes rotation of the rotary member 70' so as to provide a recording of the mechanical movement involved. In any event, the rotary source 70 is connected by means of a belt 71 to theinput of a variable transmission 72. I'The output of the variable transmission is connected by means of a belt 73 to the input shaft or pulley 74 of a pneumatic tachometer 75 (later to be described). The variable pulley 72 -is used to change the ratio of the speed of rotation between the source 70 and the pulley 74.

The pneumatic tachometer has an input conduit 79 through which a 20 p.s.i. source of air is introduced to operate the tachometer. An output conduit 761 delivers a 3 to 15 p.s.i. signal depending upon the rate of rotation of the input pulley 74. Needless to say, the internal details of the pneumatic tachometer or transmitter 75 are such that it is capable of converting the rotary movement of the pulley 74 into a signal of corresponding value falling within the 3 to 15 p.s.i range referred to above. It has been found that a Foxboro Type 16A pneumatic tachometer of the type described in Foxboro Bulletin 458 is suitable for the purposes of FIGURE 1.

Briefly stated, however, the tachometer 75 may have therein a flow nozzle (not shown) which is partly and variably covered by a flapper (not shown) which is pivotally movable with respect to the nozzle. A magnetizable disc (not shown) is attached to the flapper in such a manner that rotational movement of the disc will cause pivotal movement of the apper with respect to the nozzle, thereby increasing or decreasing the back pressure through the nozzle. An annularly arranged eight pole permanent magnet (not shown) is positioned in spaced relation with respect to the disc and is attached to the shaft upon which the input pulley 74 is mounted. A spring biasing means (not shown) is also attached to the flapper to bias the same in a given direction. However, rotational movement of the magnet will tend to cause the disc to turn so as to pivot the nozzle against the action of its spring biasing means. Since the magnetic torque is proportional to the rotational speed of the magnet, the change in back pressure through the nozzle will be proportional to the speed of the input shaft 74. A valve (not shown) also mounted within the tachometer 75 is adapted to be regulated by the back pressure through the nozzle so as to produce an output pressure in the conduit 76 falling within the 3 to 15 p.s.i. range referred to above and being proportional to the speed of rotation of the shaft 74.

The 3 to 15 p.s.i. signal in the conduit 76 is also transmitted to a servo 28 (later to be described). A 20 p.s.i source of air is supplied to the servo 28 through the conduit 80 for operating the servo. Conduits 79 and 80 are conected in common to a variable regulator 77 which, in turn, is connected to the source of rig air supply through the conduit 78. In the event that the rotation of the shaft 70 is not properly correlated with units on the recording chart 40, adjustment of the variable transmission 72 will provide the proper correlation.

The servo 28 is a recording device having a pivotally mounted recording arm 37 mounted therein and movable from a fixed reference position as represented by the po sition of the arm 37 when a 3 pound input signal is introduced into the servo 28 through the line 76. The arm 37 is adapted to be deflected from this reference position when the input pressure exceeds 3 p.s.i. A cable (not shown) attached to the motive means (not shown) in the servo 28 is connected to the pen arm 37 so as to deflect the latter. A pen 39 -is connected to the outer end of the arm 37 and a chart r40 (only a portion of which is shown) is adapted to be placed 1in such a position as to be contacted by the pen 39. A suitable servo has been found to be a Taylor Servomatic Motor, I Series as illustrated in Catalog 4B201, Issue 2, of the Taylor Instrument Companies TP-618.

FIGURE 2 is similar to FIGURE 1 in that the system is designed to record the rotational movement of the rotary source 70. However, instead of using the variable pulley 'h2 (which is essentially mechanical in nature) the rotary source 70 is connected directly to the rotating element 74 in the pneumatic transmitter 75 by means of the belt 71. The output side of the transmitter is connected by means of the conduit 76 to a variable multiplier 19 and a booster relay 26.

A reference pressure of -3 p.s.i. is fed into the multiplier 19 through the conduit 20. The output from the multiplier '19 is fed into a booster relay 26 through the conduit 23. It might be mentioned here that the booster relay is actually a part of the pneumatic multiplier 19; however, this will appear more clearly hereinafter in connection with a more detailed description of the pneumatic multiplier. A control handle 24 is provided on the multiplier 19 to permit a variation between the input and output pressures in the conduits 76 and 23, respectively. The output from the booster relay 26 is fed t0 the servo -28 and the booster relay 26 through conduits 31 and 32, respectively. Conduits 31 and 32 connect in common with conduit 33 and in series with conduit 34, regulator 3S and the source of rig air 36.

The overall pneumatic multiplier comprising the element specifically designated as pneumatic multiplier 19 plus the booster relay 26 is a standard purchased item. For example, the pneumatic multiplier can be the Moore ratio-control system described on page 6, 'Bulletin 5019 of the Moore Products Catalog of 1962. As described above, the input pneumatic signal through the conduit 76 varies between 3 and 15 p.s.i. Also, the pneumatic signal from the conduit S27 to the servo 2S varies between 3 and 15 p.s.i. However, within the range of 3 to 15 p.s.i. it may well happen that a pressure differential of 1 pound in conduit 76 should be reflected as a differential of 1.5 or 2 pounds in a conduit 27 in order that the servo 28 will operate in accordance with the graduations on the chart supplied therefor. Thus, by adjusting the control knob 24, the pressure differential in conduit 76 can be amplified by a factor ranging between 0.2 and 2.0 in the output line 27.

The output from the pneumatic multiplier through the conduit 27 is connected to the servo 28 such that the latter operates substantially in the same manner as the servo previously described. In the case of FIGURE 2, if it is discovered that the changes in speed of the rotary source 70 are not synchronized with the units of value on the recording chart 40 then a simple adjustment of the knob 24 will bring the recorded measurement 4properly into orientation with respect to the chart.

The trace appearing on the chart 40, as marked thereon by the pen `39, will provide a continuous and permanent record of the speed of the rotary source as measured, for example, in terms of strokes per minute or revolutions per minute. Thus, for pump strokes the chart can be calibrated from zero to one hundred indicating strokes per minute. With respect to the rotary table, the chart can be graduated in units from zero to tive hundred indicating revolutions per minute.

Whereas the present invention has been described inparticular relation to the drawings attached hereto, it should be understood that other and further modifications, apart those shown or suggested herein may be made within the spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:l

A pneumatic recording system for recording the rotary speed of a variable rotary source comprising a pneumatic transmitter having a rotatable input portion, means for transmitting the rotary movement of said rotary source yto the rotatable input of said pneumatic transmitter, means within said pneumatic transmitter for providing a variable output pneumatic signal variable between the limits of a given range of pneumatic pressures in accordance with the rotary speed of said rotary source, means supplying a source of air under pressure to operate said transmitter, a pneumatic multiplier connected to said output signal from said transmitter, means supplying a source of air under pressure to said pneumatic multiplier for operating the same, an output from said pneumatic multiplier providing air under pressure within a predetermined pressure range, means within said pneumatic multiplier for changing the ratio of output pressure to input pressure, a recording device having mounted therein a pen arm pivotal from a reference position, an input signal line to said recording device, means connecting said input signal line for said recording device to the output of said variable pneumatic multiplier, means within said recording device for deflecting said pen arm away from its reference position an amount commensurate with the value of the input pneumatic signal to said recording device, and means for supplying a source of air under pressure to said recording device for operating the same.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,128,833 8/.1938 Martin 73--412 2,599,797 6/1952 Wilson 73--502 2,627,178 2/'1953 Hayward et al. 73-155 2,642,075 6/1953` White 137-85 3,071,006 1/1963 Hornfeck 73-432 3,084,550 4/1963 Bowditch 73-407 3,100,399 8/1963 Robins 73-391 LEO SMILOW, Primary Examiner. 

